Wednesday, December 29, 2010

If you have followed Tozz's Corner, you know what she is now the Pickledish Patch. And surely you have known her as one of the great artists who share with us all, from Among the Gum Tree. Well, now is your chance to hop on over to her blog and see the lovely things she is giving away. The wonderful treasures she has created, she is giving her readers. So click on over to

Friday, December 24, 2010

And all thru the house... I don't know about your house, but mine is crazy,!Not "A" creature is stirring, but many of them it seems. That's what the holidays are all about though. :-)

Wishing you all the very best of Christmas's and a prosperous New Year. That means we get back on track with our UFO's right? :-) Oh, but there is another week before we have to think about them though, thank goodness. LOL!

Enjoy your holiday
May the true spirit of Christmas be with you all.

Christmas Sampler from Art to Heart Tidings book. The buttons that they sold to go with them, are just spectacular. They truly "make" the entire project. My hats off the the artist who had the patience to sit and craft these beauties from Polymer Clay.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Just a few weeks back The Henry Glass Designers had a wonderful and free "Holiday Project Parade". It is always so much fun to see what the designers have been up to.

This little treasure is from Jacquelynn Steves from the Noble Wife. I have always loved pin cushions, and this one just for the holidays struck my fancy. We all put our little finishing touches on things to make them our own, and I choose a spray glitter for mine. It was quite by accident, I found the can while cleaning our a drawer that hadn't been opened for quite some time. I completely forgot that I even had bought the stuff. While it is hard to see in a photo, it worked great and added just that special sparkle to my holiday trees.

Another one of the projects that I just loved was from Heather Mulder over at Anka's Treasures. This Holiday Dish Passer is just about as fast and easy as it comes. I was additionally very happy to find the casserole dish for it, at no place else but Wal Mart. It's a Paula Deen dish and the rich cranberry color was perfect for not only this project, but the season. So score, another Christmas gift is crossed off my list.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

It's so hard to decorate when your kids get old. At almost 30, my boys are just not as impressed with my Christmas Decorations as they were when they were 3. But after some thought, this idea of a garland with their favorite things on it came to life. One races cars and the other is a chef, so my garland had a theme. I threw in a few bottles of their favorite drinks, and Viola! It came to life. Not the normal garland, but it should bring a smile to their faces!

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Sitting here today with my coffee and lamenting over the state we live in now. I bought a new flavor of coffee creamer, Vanilla Nut Rum, and yes, it is absolutely as great as it sounds. But trying to break into the sealed foil under the top, proved to be quite the challenge. It got me remembering the days prior to that goof ball, who tried to poison us all with something in Tylenol caplets. Remember that? If I am thinking correctly that was the beginning of the end of our innocence and many of our abilities to open bottles of anything. Today you have to arm yourself with knives, scissors and hands of steel (not buns) just to get things open, so you "can" use them. Does this seem really crazy to anyone but me. What the heck has happened to our society??

Ok, I will get off my soap box now. I wish this Vanilla Nut Rum had a little of the "real" rum in it, that might make me a little more mellow this morning! :-)

What this post was all about before my crazy foil incident, was this new rage called mug rugs. These little treasures are so much fun to make. It opens your mind to new designs, and let you finish them quickly. Even the busiest of people can manage to finish up a 6" x 10" quilt in a sitting.

This has to be one of my favorite dollar store finds. The sentiment on the cup "OHHHH" so explains my situation this time of my life. It's a sad thing, but it happens to most of us! :-)

If you have younger children or grandchildren, don't leave them out. You can find the cutest little cups, even sippy cups and make them special "Milk Mats". What a great way to share some special time with a loved one.

And last but not least, Santa will be riding thru next week, and we all leave milk and cookies out for him don't we????? Well, have a special little mat for him this season too...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I love striped bindings, but I am seeing a trend here. Guess I need to go out and do some fabric shopping!
:-)

Monday, December 13, 2010

OK, so I have raised a house full of boys and never been able to sew for any of them. I made an effort a few times, but was never able to pull off anything they would walk out the door in, once they were old enough to talk. Needless to say, sewing for my boys has really never happened. Until of course this past year, when I dug out my old First Choice Boxer pattern. You know that one I bought 5 or 6 years ago. Who knew that boys of all ages love these boxers. I've even been coerced into making 'em for one of their friends too! Soooooo... what better than Christmas Panties for everyone! And I do mean everyone. I used up so much of my old Christmas stash, that I actually had to run out, and buy more. There is even an evil surprise Christmas day for the dads, all of them, and my husband has a large family. It should keep their kids in stitches for years to come! I know you wish you were going to be a mouse in the corner that day. :-)

First Choice makes a dynamite pattern for these boxers. I found them pretty fast, and easy once I made the first pair and figured out the method of putting them together. They take about 1 yd each- 1 1/4 for extra large. If you have boxer lovin boys in your house, you might want to check them out.

Oh, since I was on this mission, I found a wonderful piece of Alexander Henry Christmas Boys and had to make a pair, for a friend of mine. Slightly adjusted so she gets no draft, if you get my drift!! LOL I can hardly wait to give these to her :-)

OK I really need to quilt plotting and clean up this place before someone comes home and catches me! Hope your holiday is delightful too.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Yestereday was such a special day for me. I am still reeling over it all. Madame Samm was so kind as to invite me to be a guest blogger over at Stash Manicure. I knew I had huge shoes to fill and I am so novice at blogging, but everyone made me feel right at home. I got a very nice email from MSamm last night asking me to guest post again in February. Yeah! I wasn't a complete flop!!!! Happy Dance Happy Dance!! As a result from this I had over 2000 views to my blog yesterday, too. Best yet I have 20 more followers. Whew! My head is spinning. Thank you Thank you Thank you is all I can say. I appreciate you all taking time out of your day to read my ramblings. My goal is to share, inspire and hopefully get a chuckle, from sharing my goofy sense of humor with everyone. Please feel free to let me know what you like, what you dislike and what you would like to see in the future. My ears are always ready to listen!

Sewn with Grace, you are the winner of my snap tape bag. Your comment was priceless and got a laugh out of me. As soon as I get your address from MSamm, it will be on it's way to you. Thank you "all" so much for your wonderful comments.

That being said, lets get back to those fast and easy little projects I promised to share.

Here is another one of those great freebies over at Connecting Threads, that you just have to try. It should take you longer to print off the pattern and collect the supplies than it does to make it, so what are you waiting for. Best yet, what a great addition to their adorable little snowman pin cushion for your favorite quilting sister! Right? Hummmmm I have always wanted a sister! Anyone out there game?????

Thursday, December 9, 2010

I just love these little bags with snap tape in them. You just pull the tops apart and they snap back into a closed position. I have rummaged thru my husbands shop and found a tape measure that was perfect for this job. You will see later on, just why.

Lets walk thru building your own bag. First you need to find an old metal tape measure. Take apart the container and remove the tape. The first one I did, I carefully hide the evidence in the trash, so my husband would not find it. My evil quilting friend suggested that I put the cartridge back together and put it back in it's place in his shop, to just see how long it took him to find it, and what his reaction would be. Although tempting as it was, I chose my "chicken" method of just hiding the empty thing and making sure it went out to the trash! :-)

You start with quilted fabric. I always seem to make my own, the choices on the market are OK, but never exactly what I am looking for. Cut 2 pieces, just slightly larger than you want your bag to be. If your not using a directional print as this one is, you can make one long strip and just fold in half.

Attach a piece of 2" binding folded in half lengthwise to the front of the bag. Like the one on the top. Then you are going to press it up and over the underside of the bag, and stitch down like on the bottom. If you are going to put a pocket on one or both sides of the bag, now is the time to do so. I recommend one, at least, and I do a double row of stitching around the pocket. Keep in mind you will be folding over the top approximately 1 1/2" when deciding placement of the pockets.

Next, lay your 2 sides out on a table and mark your fold line. This needs to be about 1/2" to 3/4" more than the width of your tape measure you using. I like to chalk the line on both pieces at the same time to keep them even. Then I press them with steam to set them. Come back to your machine and stitch them down leaving the ends open.

It's time for the tape. You need to measure the width of your bag, and cut your tape 1" smaller than that measurement. It is very easy to cut this tape. I use one of those cheap pair of orange handle scissors. Warning! Once you do that, they will never cut another thing again, so make sure you find and old pair or a "dedicated to metal- from now on" pair for the project. You are going to want 2 layers of tape for each side of the bag. Round off the ends of all the tapes and stack them together. Use some kind of tape (I used painters tape) or a nice duct tape to tape off the ends so they don't wear a hole in your finished bag with use.

You want to push your tape into the sleeve you created for the front and back of the bag. Make sure your numbers are facing up so it snaps closed correctly. Now if you look closely at the 2 photos with the tape in it, you will notice the condition of this tape. (and trust me this was the best part of it) Really do we need to keep something that the numbers and lines are worn off ???? Especially if you are trying to take a precise measurement of anything. Or is it just me!!!!! :-)

Put your to pieces rights sides together and stitch them up. Be careful when stitching close to the tape. I push them to the opposite side from where I am working, to make sure I don't hit them with a sewing machine needle. I straight stitch at 1/4" and then when I am done go around them with the serger to finish off the seams. Turn right side out and your done. How easy was that huh? I have made a bunch of different sizes. They are great to keep supplies for classes in. I can collect the book, fabrics, threads, etc. in them to take to a class. I also like big ones to stuff all my underwear in when I am traveling. It's kind of nice to have them all concealed. With the TSA's X-ray eyes they can see them, but I can't when I open my bag! :-)

These are doubling as Christmas bags for me. I can put all the little trinkets I have collected for my friends inside and they have a new usable bag too! Now start stitchin, it's not too late! :-) :-) Stay tuned I have a few other quick and easy projects to share too. Can you tell I have had the week off from work. The timing is perfect and I am taking full advantage of it!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

One of my favorite quilt shops had this little redwork pattern on display last week. Of course I couldn't possibly walk out the door without one for myself. It's a little sacri-religious, so it might not be the best Christmas gift ever, but it sure brought a smile to my face. I found that the quality of the feed sack kitchen towels that I used was so poor that the design actually worked out much better when I digitized it and stitched it out as an embroidery design.

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

The days are winding down and the holiday will be upon up, but there is still time to get a few of these cute little pin cushions made for you favorite quilting and stitching buddies. Best yet, this is a free pattern over at Connecting Threads. Click on the word "Snowman" and you will be magically transported there. I tell you it's a quick little project too. This handsome line up of gents went together in a couple of hours! Yippee!!!!!!!

You will find lots of other fun freebies too, take a few minutes and check it out! Happy Stitching. :-)

Monday, December 6, 2010

I was lucky enough to get "parole" as I like to refer to it, from going into work again today. I love it when we are in-between busy seasons, and they are more than willing to grant you time off without pay. It saves them a few bucks and it gives me the time I need to finish my holiday projects. Or as in this case take a class that I was longing to take! On my way out of the driveway this morning, I had to turn around and grab my camera for this spectacular shot of the sunrise. I just love how the colors seem to dance in the sky. I know you've seen enough of my sunrise photos. I will quit for awhile now! :-) :-)

The class I took was a convergence class. It wasn't the first one I have made, but I tried a directional fabric, and I am not all that thrilled with the results. You can't turn it to get that really cool melding of fabrics, but I have a plan (scary as it is) and when I get it finished I will post it.

In the mean time I need to share a great website with you if your looking for sewing machine needles. CTSUSA.com A friend suggested it, and I ordered 100 organ Sharp Point Large Eye Metallic needles for under $24. Shipping is free too! They shipped within hours of my order and I had them in 3 days. What great service. Give them a try if your needing needles. They do have quite a few other items on their site too! Happy shopping! Now back to my convergence quilt!

Friday, December 3, 2010

As I have mentioned before my work days start about 2am, so I seldom get to see much of the light of day. But I was lucky enough to see this wonderful sunrise on my day off the other day. I just had to share it with all of you. No photo enhancing was done, just me and my little ole point and shoot Canon G9! It continues to amaze me, what it can do.

.

I am so glad that I woke early enough to see this incredible view. I, for one, take for granted my immediate surroundings and tend to not notice the beauty they hold.

Now I wonder how I can convert this into a quilt project????? Any ideas anyone? I urge you to take some photos of your area and share them with us. It would be fun to see each other's back yards!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

I have to share with you the wonderful mug rug I received in the mail from Betty. She was my partner in Aunt Polly's Porch mug rug swap. Can you believe what a wonderful package she sent to me? The adorable mug rug, and great stainless steel mug, hot chocolate, and candy! Only to top it off with ribbon and ric-rac thread and buttons. Whew, I am so lucky. Betty comes from quite a line of talent too. Her husband does wonderful cartoon drawings, one of which she put on the back of the recipe's we swapped, and her daughter in law is quite the accomplished scrapbooker and paper artist. I am lucky to have one of her cards too. If you want to see some inspiration that is over the moon great, check out her blog at http://madebynicole.blogspot.com/. Betty shared a delicious sounding recipe for Shortbread cookies. I will be giving them a try very soon. As for you Betty, words can't thank you enough. Your the best.

I have to confess, in my rush to thank Betty, I told her how delighted I was with the little watering can on the mug rug????? The next day while enjoying my coffee on my new "rug" it dawned on me. Watering can???? It's a coffee cup. So I had to write an apology letter. I have to wonder some times about myself. Is it my rush to thank someone, my old mind going, or just that I'm a big ole goober! Whatever the case, Betty I love my rug. Thank you so much, for being so forgiving! And I am delighted to have a new Internet friend from this swap.

I can now share the little package that I sent to Betty.

In keeping with the theme of things, you can see that I put a cute little Elephant on her mug rug! LOL!!! Geesh, I hope that my mind doesn't get any worse with my age! :-)

Back to School

QAYG

Enter if U Dare

Sun Sand and Sea

Seams to be Sew

Oh Baby

Wild Babies

BOM 2017

Sew Fresh Quilts

Free BOM

I was on Meet A Quilter

quilting bloggers

Here's looking at you

About Me

I've been stitching for over 50 years now and my goal is to inspire and entertain you down this "crazy" quilting road we all love to travel! Feel free to join in, and for heavens sake...don't let those crazy hats scare you. We all need a good laugh!